Fleetwood Revolution part of American Coach

[andy5010]

Just thought I would let you know that I seen in my email that ACA has welcomed Fleetwoods Revolution series to the American Coach Family. From what I understand the Revolution is made at the same plant as American Coach is made.

[Gary RVRoamer]

That's true - the 2011 Revolution will be named the American Revolution and is officially an American Coach product. Apparently the American Allegiance has been dropped.

The Rev was always produced on the American Coach assembly line, but did not share all the same parts, chassis, etc. Now it will be a much closer relative.

[JMonroe]

Originally Posted by andy5010

Just thought I would let you know that I seen in my email that ACA has welcomed Fleetwoods Revolution series to the American Coach Family. From what I understand the Revolution is made at the same plant as American Coach is made.

Yup. Mine will be one of the first badged at the factory as an "American". The chassis should hit the assembly line next week (just missed this week). I already have the VIN and photos, which I've posted elsewhere on this forum.

[pcurt23]

What is really sad is that the Bounder Diesel also seems to be gone from the Fleetwood lineup.

pcurt

[riggarob]

Originally Posted by JMonroe

Yup. Mine will be one of the first badged at the factory as an "American". The chassis should hit the assembly line next week (just missed this week). I already have the VIN and photos, which I've posted elsewhere on this forum.

I'm jealous ! Did you get to fill out your own build sheet, or did you order thru a dealer? Robbie Oh, do they now have IFS?

[riggarob]

Originally Posted by pcurt23

What is really sad is that the Bounder Diesel also seems to be gone from the Fleetwood lineup.

pcurt

I'm glad they thinned out the line-up. There was just to many overlapping models. Mine is a Providence, the same as an Excursion, but I noticed that the Excursion is no more, and now they have 2 tag axle Discoveries. Robbie

[JMonroe]

Originally Posted by riggarob

I'm jealous ! Did you get to fill out your own build sheet, or did you order thru a dealer? Robbie Oh, do they now have IFS?

You can't buy or order directly from the factory, you do have to work with a dealer. So far I'm very pleased with both (our dealer is Tom Johnson Camping Center, Marion NC. Our sales rep is David Knight. I'd recommend both.)

The one thing the Revolution did not have, that was on my wish list, was IFS. Having test driven a 'beam' axle coach, however, I decided this was a non-issue, and the lower maintenance requirements of the beam axle kind of made it a wash, in my book. Of course I keep saying, there's no such thing as the 'perfect' coach (or car, or house, or...). We each have to weight our wish list items according to our personal experiences and expectations.

[riggarob]

One last question. I noticed that you had a Tiffin, what changed your mind? Also, did you just set down w/ the sales rep, and check of the stuff you want/don't want? Just kinda lookin' down the road. Thanx, Robbie

Originally Posted by JMonroe

You can't buy or order directly from the factory, you do have to work with a dealer. So far I'm very pleased with both (our dealer is Tom Johnson Camping Center, Marion NC. Our sales rep is David Knight. I'd recommend both.)

The one thing the Revolution did not have, that was on my wish list, was IFS. Having test driven a 'beam' axle coach, however, I decided this was a non-issue, and the lower maintenance requirements of the beam axle kind of made it a wash, in my book. Of course I keep saying, there's no such thing as the 'perfect' coach (or car, or house, or...). We each have to weight our wish list items according to our personal experiences and expectations.

[JMonroe]

Originally Posted by riggarob

One last question. I noticed that you had a Tiffin, what changed your mind? Also, did you just set down w/ the sales rep, and check of the stuff you want/don't want? Just kinda lookin' down the road. Thanx, Robbie

We did consider the Allegro Bus. It sure is a good looking coach, and we've been pleased with our Open Road. Construction of the Open Road is on par for this price point segment of the market, and Tiffin was very good to us relative to the one 'big' warrantee item we had problems with (not one, but two dash covers cracked in the first two years. The one in the rig now is obviously made of a slightly different material than the first two, no problems to date).

I looked at all aspects of construction, value, floor plans, factory and dealer support - the gamut. While Bob Tiffin is terrific, and willing to most anything to help his customers, my perception is that they've had more quality issues this year, now that their production numbers have ramped up again (I'm on the TRVN forum all the time - Tiffin RV Network). While its nice that they'll stand behind it, its still a PITA to have to constantly deal with all the problems.

In looking at construction, I'm of the opinion that the Tiffin is 'old' school. The walls are still using luan under the fiberglass exterior (the American Coach design uses 1/4" composite, eliminating the wood - nothing to absorb water). The walls are set on the floor (the Revolution walls set into a heavy interlocking aluminum channel). The area around the basement doors is made the same as my Open Road (framed in with sheet metal - which is already showing surface rust, as is some of the framing - the Revolution framing is all powder coated). The gaskets used to seal the basement doors come off a big roll, they are not molded specifically for the opening, as are those on the Fleetwood, and will kink in the corners, owners frequently complain of leaks (I've got two storage bays I've had to chase leaks in). There are a lot of these little details, if you do your homework.

Ours will be an 'all electric' coach, no LP on board. The Revolution will come with 8 AGM batteries, the Bus comes with 6 wet cells. We'll get not only surround sound, as in the Bus, but a Blue Ray player in the living area and a high end DVD player in the bedroom. The full wall slide floor plan on the Revolution really opens it up. Again, a lot of details.

The only thing the Bus has that the Revolution will not is IFS, but after driving a non-IFS coach, I decided it was a non-issue for me.

One more 'small' bonus (percentage wise), the Revolution list price was 13 to 17k less, depending on floorplan chosen.

And yes, we sat down with the sales rep and checked off what we wanted. The list of options is relatively short as most everything you'll want is standard equipment.

[Dirtbuster]

Originally Posted by JMonroe

Yup. Mine will be one of the first badged at the factory as an "American". The chassis should hit the assembly line next week (just missed this week). I already have the VIN and photos, which I've posted elsewhere on this forum.

By looking at the brochure, you are going to have one very nice Coach. I love the dark wood, & the dinning arrangement. You will have to post some pics when you pick it up!

[Essex-Spensive]

Welcome to the American Coach Forum. I moved from the Tiffin family also. I wantred to purchase a 2010 Z and the dealers wouldn't deal on my 08 Bus. One would but Tiffin wouldn't allwow them to sell a Z.
The full wall slide is wonderfull, you will enjoy all of the extr room. Tom Johnson was very good to deal with and Marion is good for service.

[riggarob]

Jay, thank you, thank you, thank you !!!! We've owned 3 FW's in the last 61/2 years, and loved them all. Now we're KINDA looking again, so are looking out of our comfort zone (FW). The QBP caught our attention. At the time, the REV was not the new design like yours. The Bus had a 450HP eng, slide out gen, 10kw gen, and IFS vs 400 HP, no gen slide out, an 8 kw gen, and no IFS. Now w/ the move to the American line, that has all changed. And you're correct about the full wall slide. Thanx for the great reply !! Robbie

[JMonroe]

Originally Posted by Dirtbuster

By looking at the brochure, you are going to have one very nice Coach. I love the dark wood, & the dinning arrangement. You will have to post some pics when you pick it up!

Yup, I liked the dark (mahogany) wood too. My wife liked the glazed maple. Wanna guess which we ordered?

The brochure shows the 'face to face' dinette, which is one of the few options. We are getting the 'free standing' table and chairs. Actually, it comes with a 'buffet' style wall unit that includes a computer work station and even a place for our 'all in one' printer / copier - with A/C or 12v power in the cabinet - all hidden out of sight when not in use.

[riggarob]

Men, don't U know that light woods will make the 450 sq ft interior look like 451 sq ft. Jeeze !!!!!!!!!!